Disclaimer: The characters belong solely to CAPCOM.
Strings
Chapter 1
"Attention to Athena Cykes from Class 2-A. Please report to the staff room immediately. I repeat: Attention to Athena Cykes from Class 2-A. Please report to the staff room immediately."
I groaned in exasperation.
"Whoa, 'Thena." Juniper hovered over my desk, giving a look at my recent test score. "It's impressive that you failed Biology test that's not even worth 5% of the course grade."
My head was spinning. This was not supposed to happen. A bright athlete, yes, I was. I could run faster and longer than anyone else in the school could. My stamina would not disappoint me. Give me everything that's related to sports: Cross country, volleyball, or even football. And gymnastics too. I could master them all. All it took for me was a single glance and boom! I could mimic the athlete perfectly even that's the first time I tried out that sport.
But academics?
Rats.
Sheesh, it's just the third week of school and all the teachers knew the athletic but dumb-in-classes Athena. Wait, for PE class, I was an A student. No further arguments.
Juniper, or whom I called Junie, was my only friend. Because we had so many things in common when we were both kids, we became instant friends. The fact that we were always absent during elementary school earned us the title 'The Missing Duo.' Juniper had that strong look, confidence plastered on her face, but she had a frail body. While me, I had an extraordinary ability.
I could hear a person's voices—not from their speeches, but rather from their hearts. Peculiar, I know. They could be detrimental at times.
I also thought that's the reason why I shied away from most people that I'd met. I approached new people meekly. They smiled but inside them, the monstrous voice stung my ears.
Weirdo. Shut-in.
Did you know? They said her dad left her when she was still a baby. Poor soul.
Why would she wear headphones in class? That's so rude.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I wore this special headphone my mother made for me. It's supposed to keep those voices away, but over time they seemed to be getting worse. But it's even worse when I threw it away. Fainting was not rare for me. Not when I had bare ears. During fifth grade, my mother was furious when she knew that I discarded the headphone at the nearby river just because I couldn't handle the voices, and that it made me look ugly.
All the teachers were informed of my bizarre problem. My mother made efforts to see all the teachers personally, even the Principal, to get me the permission to wear the special headphone during school session. They knew, but sometimes a handful of them just frowned at me when I didn't pay attention to the class. They even accused me of listening to music while they're teaching. One time a teacher confiscated the headphone from my head. Needless to say, it ended with me waking up in the infirmary. That teacher didn't apologize for being the reason I passed out from all these negative emotions.
Junie waved the test paper in front of me. "'Thena, they're calling you again."
I mumbled so much that I didn't hear the second announcement.
"Right. I'll see you at the space center, Junie."
As I walked out from the class, Juniper bid me goodbye.
The staff room's environment was always gloomy. I could also say the people working in it were not… pleasant.
I quickly took a seat to face my grumpy Biology teacher. I swore in the name of this school that it felt like an eternity listening to his sermon about the importance of Biology in life. He even went as far asking, "Honestly, Cykes. What do you wanna be when you grow up?"
"I don't know. Maybe just a 'normal' person…?" I laughed sheepishly.
He couldn't digest the joke, and I knew it by the way he narrowed his eyes on me. But I truly meant it. I would trade anything in the world for a normal hearing.
"Cykes, I know it's just the beginning of the school, but I…"
I couldn't hear anything after that.
As a fate was destined for me, I turned my head to the right.
Ah, it seemed like an upperclassman got reprimanded too. He had this unruly but shiny black hair. Tall, 6 feet maybe, I don't know. I couldn't make up his height when he's still sitting.
He's currently in the same position that I was in. He probably got low grades. Or caught playing truant, or smoking at the rooftop. That guy was a prototype for every school's delinquent. He, too, didn't pay any attention to the female teacher sitting in front of him. All he did was stare at the floor.
"Simon Blackquill. I'm talking to you." She tried to tap him on the shoulder.
In that instant, he caught her hand in reflex. "I'm listening."
And at the same time, he caught me looking at him. In the corner of his gray eye, he shot a sharp glare at my face.
The HELL are you looking at?
Quickly I turned to my teacher, who didn't even notice that my mind was lingering all over the staff room but him. My heart dropped the moment I heard this mystery guy's hoarse voice. He was intimidating. My goodness. I got to tell Juniper about this.
The bell rung, signifying the break time was over. Even if the teachers used my break times to scold me, I was glad they didn't hold me past school hours. 1 minute at school seemed forever to me, except physical activities. They kept me alive.
I heard the chairs to my right squeaked as this 'Blackquill' guy stood up. From what I could make of, the teacher had not finished lecturing him. He walked to the door and stopped. What he said next altered my life ever since. And he left with the door unclosed.
I was to follow him. I said the usual 'okay,' 'I'll try,' and whatever phrases that I could provide to my teacher so he knew that I was in a hurry.
"Cykes," my teacher halted me, sounding concerned. "Please, if you have any problems, you can just talk to me, okay?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." I gave him a reassuring smile and left.
I ran out to the hallway, and the guy was nowhere to be found.
My hands were shaky, legs wobbly, and I had to lean on the wall to collect myself from collapsing.
In forlorn, heartbroken voice, he said:
You can hear me, right?
…
…
… Save me.
To be continued…